This invention relates particularly to apparatus for raising eatable chickens.
It is extremely important to minimize disease in raising chickens. Diseases are spread because chickens eat feces in which bacteria have multiplied. Bacteria intrude into the chicken raising facility on the feet of humans entering and leaving. Bacteria which have entered the chicken raising facility get into the feces and are cultured in that medium. Diseases caused by parasitic bacteria in feces can be prevented by eliminating feces from the chicken raising facility. If a chicken eats feces immediately after excretion, it does not cause disease. This is because it takes a given number of days for the bacteria in feces to multiply. For this reason frequent removal of feces and maintenance of sanitary conditions within the chicken raising facility are important.
Approximately twenty eating chickens (for human consumption as meat) can be raised in one square meter. Twenty eating chickens consume approximately 140 Kg of feed in being raised to maturity. Consequently, a corresponding amount of feces accumulates on a dirt floor. Feces accumulates on the floor to a depth of tens of centimeters while the chickens are raised to maturity. Accumulated feces on a dirt floor cannot be removed until the chickens are removed. In this manner, large quantities of feces accumulated on a dirt floor provide an excellent environment for the generation of noxious gases and bacteria cultures, and are a source of bacterial infection.
To remove feces, a chicken raising facility with a feces removal belt provided under the floor has been developed. The floor in this facility is grated to allow feces to pass through it. By moving the removal belt provided under the floor, this configuration removes feces from under the floor.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a facility for raising chickens in which the outbreak of diseases caused by feces is drastically reduced by maintaining the floor in a sanitary fashion. It is another primary object of this invention to provide a facility for raising chickens in which breast calluses (that can be caused by grated floors) can be prevented and high quality chickens can be raised. It is still another primary object of this invention to provide a facility for raising chickens in which the chickens can be easily removed after maturity.